Online video streaming has increased in popularity with a wider availability of high speed broadband connections. The establishment of online video streaming sites such as YouTube marked only the beginning of a new way to enjoy home entertainment, access educational content, and preserve family memories by creating videos.
Following the inception of YouTube, came the high availability of high speed Internet and devices equipped with web cams which allow you to easily create and upload videos on an endless variety of topics. The availability of high speed broadband also prompted video resources such as Blockbuster to rethink the way in which home entertainment videos are offered, especially with the inception of Netflix which rocked the offline video market.
Now with the release of Internet capable televisions and the availability of Internet TV, video streaming has come to the forefront of enjoying a wider variety of home entertainment options while saving a lot of money on your cable TV bills. Video streaming is a fairly new concept to most so let’s discuss what types of video streaming resources are currently available for enjoyment with your home entertainment system. There is a very wide genre so we will mention some of the most highly utilized video streaming resources.
YouTube
Although YouTube is one of the most well-known video streaming resources online since it was one of the first, it is worth mentioning for those who may have heard of it but are unsure of how it can be used as an option for home entertainment. YouTube started out as an amateur resource where you could establish a free account and then upload your own videos using a PC equipped with a web cam. The resource is still used for this purpose however it has recently been expanded to include television shows, music videos, sports game replays, news and movies.
Recently Google acquired YouTube and it has been made available on video streaming devices such as the Roku and Boxee. This means that you can stream YouTube to your HDTV or LED TV to enjoy videos on a wide genre of topics.
Comcast Xfinity
Xfinity TV is a video streaming service provided by Comcast which allows you to stream an endless variety of television shows, movies in high definition, and sports events in real time. Comcast offers a number of different video streaming packages including a free service which provides you with access to different types of home entertainment. You can also stream videos to your mobile device or tablet PC to enjoy while you are on the go. Comcast Xfinity offers standalone packages as well as discounts on packages when you bundle the services together with their Internet and voice services.
DISH Online
DISH Online is provided by the DISH satellite Internet service and offers complete series of television shows and episodes, movies, live TV, and movie rentals. When you sign up for an account with DISH Online you get full access to the wide variety of programming with the ability to program your DVR from anywhere to capture episodes and movies for viewing when it is convenient for you.
You can access some programming for free with DISH Online however; if you are a subscriber to the satellite TV service you have more options available to you. The free DISH Online service allows you to stream videos to your PC which you can watch at no monthly charge. If you are a subscriber to DISH Network you can access a wider variety of programming plus, you can stream videos to a wider variety of devices. You can also take advantage of the DVR service which allows you to record your favorite shows from any location and rent movies to download to your DVR unit.
Crackle
Crackle is another video streaming service which offers a variety of programming for free as long you can tolerate the ads. The downside of using Crackle is that it does not offer the wide genre of programming which you can get with some of the paid video streaming services online. Some of the programs which are offered are in the form of miniseries or video clips but there are a few programs which offer episodes in their entirety. Nevertheless, it still offers a decent selection of programming.
Recently Crackle has upgraded their services to include a smaller genre of full-length movies and TV series on demand. As a result of the consistent upgrade in their services, Crackle is included in the options for video streaming when you purchase streaming devices such as the Roku, Boxee, or Xbox.
ABC.com
ABC has gradually been increasing their video streaming library which includes full-length episodes of their most popular television programming. When you log onto ABC.com you can obtain access shows such as Dancing with the Stars, Once Upon a Time, your favorite daytime soap operas, and evening programming such as 20/20, ABC World News, Grey’s Anatomy and much more. There is no charge for accessing the shows and there is a fairly good variety of videos available for streaming to your home entertainment system.
Metacafe
Metacafe offers an unusual variety of streaming video which allows you to earn money for the videos you upload and share with others. In addition to streaming videos from YouTube, Metacafe offers a wide variety of do-it-yourself videos, magic tricks, high quality tutorials and scientific experiments. When you upload your videos to Metacafe the site offers a payment system based on the popularity of your video. Metacafe also recently upgraded its video resolution to provide a better viewing experience.
These are a few more video streaming resources which you can investigate. In this article we purposely did not mention Netflix and Hulu since they are mentioned in previous content on this website. They are also the most popular video streaming sites so the information and resources we have provided here will help you to build up a library of video streaming resources. Additionally, if you type video streaming services into the search engines you will find additional resources which offer everything from documentaries to entertainment which is offered on television stations in other countries.